So it's been a full week since I picked mine up. Some initial thoughts:
1.) Adaptive Cruise is an amazing technology that I am almost certain has lowered my blood pressure and improved my general outlook on life. You take more of a managerial approach to stop & go traffic rather than having to be directly involved.
b.) Lane Assist is a nice concept and it's even executed fairly well in this car, but I still turned it off. If you're on a divided highway doing 55+ it's a great feature that'll nudge you gently back into you own lane should you drift too close to the line. However, NOVA roads just cause too many false positives with narrow/moving lane lines, and curvy but busy 4-lane roads like Herndon Pkwy. I will probably go back in and switch it on just for road trips where it's more in it's element.
iii.) The DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control aka Adjustable Dampers) is fuckin' choice. Comfort is King for commuting, it's not so soft that you can just crash through a pothole and not feel it like an old Cadillac... but it's also not terribly far off. Sport mode on the other hand is at least as stiff, if not stiffer, than the BMW on the Koni yellows. Like, you could read braille by driving over it. I have hucked it around an on ramp once so far, and as far as I can tell there is no perceivable body roll.
IV.) IIRC, in older generations the Autobahns were a big step up from other trims and even got more sound deadening. I don't know if this is still the case or I just forgot how new a new car feels, but in Comfort or Eco mode it's like sitting in a bank vault.
Cinco.) They finally "fixed" sport mode on the DSG. It will now upshift at about 3000rpms with a light throttle, whereas older cars will literally sit there and hang at 5500rpms coasting off the throttle, indefinitely. I have never understood why they tuned "sport" mode only be useful if you're on the track or in super canyon attack mode. I even tried using sport mode in the white one when Jake and I did Dub Deliverance figuring hey, it always keeps it in the lowest possible gear, why even bother with the paddle shifters, but I only made it a lap or two before slapping back over into "M", feeling the car shift when i didn't tell it to on track was just too weird of a feeling.
6.) Carplay is amazing.
7.) I really don't hate start/stop like everyone else seems to. There are certain times when it is annoying, like when the engine is still warming up or when I know I'm only going to come to a full stop very briefly, but I am getting used to predicting those situations and just tapping the button to deactivate it. At a longer light, it's nice just to sit there listening to the radio without the motor vibrating away up there for no good reason.
All in all, I'm really happy with the upgrade. If I do end up following through on my harebrained scheme to go full APR retard with this car, it really will be the best of both worlds. Either quiet, comfy, efficient commuter or fire-breathing turbohatch at the push of a button.
1.) Adaptive Cruise is an amazing technology that I am almost certain has lowered my blood pressure and improved my general outlook on life. You take more of a managerial approach to stop & go traffic rather than having to be directly involved.
b.) Lane Assist is a nice concept and it's even executed fairly well in this car, but I still turned it off. If you're on a divided highway doing 55+ it's a great feature that'll nudge you gently back into you own lane should you drift too close to the line. However, NOVA roads just cause too many false positives with narrow/moving lane lines, and curvy but busy 4-lane roads like Herndon Pkwy. I will probably go back in and switch it on just for road trips where it's more in it's element.
iii.) The DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control aka Adjustable Dampers) is fuckin' choice. Comfort is King for commuting, it's not so soft that you can just crash through a pothole and not feel it like an old Cadillac... but it's also not terribly far off. Sport mode on the other hand is at least as stiff, if not stiffer, than the BMW on the Koni yellows. Like, you could read braille by driving over it. I have hucked it around an on ramp once so far, and as far as I can tell there is no perceivable body roll.
IV.) IIRC, in older generations the Autobahns were a big step up from other trims and even got more sound deadening. I don't know if this is still the case or I just forgot how new a new car feels, but in Comfort or Eco mode it's like sitting in a bank vault.
Cinco.) They finally "fixed" sport mode on the DSG. It will now upshift at about 3000rpms with a light throttle, whereas older cars will literally sit there and hang at 5500rpms coasting off the throttle, indefinitely. I have never understood why they tuned "sport" mode only be useful if you're on the track or in super canyon attack mode. I even tried using sport mode in the white one when Jake and I did Dub Deliverance figuring hey, it always keeps it in the lowest possible gear, why even bother with the paddle shifters, but I only made it a lap or two before slapping back over into "M", feeling the car shift when i didn't tell it to on track was just too weird of a feeling.
6.) Carplay is amazing.
7.) I really don't hate start/stop like everyone else seems to. There are certain times when it is annoying, like when the engine is still warming up or when I know I'm only going to come to a full stop very briefly, but I am getting used to predicting those situations and just tapping the button to deactivate it. At a longer light, it's nice just to sit there listening to the radio without the motor vibrating away up there for no good reason.
All in all, I'm really happy with the upgrade. If I do end up following through on my harebrained scheme to go full APR retard with this car, it really will be the best of both worlds. Either quiet, comfy, efficient commuter or fire-breathing turbohatch at the push of a button.
Now: 07 Porsche Cayman S | 18 VW Tiguan
Then: 18 VW GTI Autobahn | 95 BMW M3 | 15 VW GTI SE | 12 Kia Optima SX | 2009 VW GTI | 00 BMW 540i Sport | 90 Mazda Miata | 94 Yamaha FZR600R | 1993 Suzuki GS500E | 2003 BMW 325i | 95 Saab 900S